1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of swimming exercise apparatus which are used to aid an individual in exercise swimming. The device relates to swimming aids which permit an individual performing exercise swimming laps in a body of water such as a pool to concentrate on his or her swimming and relieves the individual of the requirement of constantly turning his or her head to expose an open mouth to the air in order to breath. The present invention concerns exercise apparatus which aid in the ease and efficiency by which swimming may be performed during the swimming of exercise laps in a pool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional snorkel has a mouthpiece which is cumbersome and a tube which extends beyond the user's head, to thereby permit the user to perform shallow dives in order to see beneath the surface of the water. While a conventional snorkel is useful for shallow dives and for short distance swimming to enable the user to breathe beneath the surface of the water, its cumbersome design and loose fitting construction wherein the snorkel tube merely extends loosely upward adjacent one side of the user's head, makes a conventional snorkel impractical for constant steady swimming of laps using a conventional Australian Crawl swimming stroke. The cumbersome design creates too much drag in the water and further does not facilitate constant swimming with the mouthpiece retained in the user's mouth.
The following patents illustrate various types of swimming assistance apparatus known in the prior art:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,174 issued to LeVasseur in 1977 for "Swimming System". This patent discloses an elaborate swimming suit which includes a mouthpiece with tubes leading around the wearer's neck. In the preferred embodiment such as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, two snorkel tubes are employed and the snorkel tubes 104 join at the mouthpiece 106 and at the blow hole 56. A major difference here is that the snorkel tubes project around and behind the wearer's neck and would not be practical for the purposes of exercise swimming since the tubes would soon fill up with water.
2. U.S. Pat. No. 2,581,007 issued to Douglas et al. in 1952 for "Swimming Helmet". In this patent, the swimming helmet also has tubes which extend along the side of the neck and could easily fill up with water.
3. U.S. Pat. No. 183,521 issued to Weck in 1876 for "Life Preserving And Swimming Suits". In this invention, a mask C' covers the face and a pair of very cumbersome flexible pipes d' extend rearwardly from the mask and at least one attaches to a drum D. The device is extremely cumbersome and impractical.
4. U.S. Pat. No. 2,693,180 issued to Galeazzi in 1954 for "Exhalation Valve For Diving Suits". This patent merely discloses a specialized valve to be used with diving suits.
The following patents illustrate various types of masks having tubing attached thereto:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 2,376,871 issued to Fink in 1945 for "Respirator Mask". This patent also discloses a mask (rather than a mouthpiece) with tubes leading from the mask to a single passageway. A key difference is that air is going into the mask (from a supply of oxygen) and the structure is impractical for swimming.
2. U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,672 issued to Cunningham et al. in 1967 for "Surgical Mask". This patent discloses a shield 12 molded to the usual contour of the face, and to which is attached an air exhaust conduit 16.
3. U.S. Pat. No.2,868,196 issued to Stampe in 1959 for "Dust Filter Mask". This patent discloses a mask which has a filter tubing attached to it.
4. U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,747 issued to Stampe in 1954 for "Dust Respirator". This patent discloses a mask which has filter tubing attached to it.
5. U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 228,476 issued to Ferguson et al. in 1973 for "Combined Oxygen Mask And Holder". This patent discloses a mouthpiece with tubing attached to a source of oxygen.
6. U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 215,982 issued to Abraham et al. in 1969 for "Disposable Anesthetist'Kit". This patent discloses a mask with tubing attached thereto which also extends to a source of gas.
7. U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 171,482 issued to Bickel in 1953 for "Respirator". This patent discloses a respirator with short tube passages extending sidewardly from the breathing portion.
8. U.S. Pat. Design Pat. Des. 120,372 issued to Boothby et al. in 1939 for "Nasal Mask". This patent discloses a mask with a pair of downwardly extending passageways and which then come together into a single passageway.
Therefore, there are no devices known in the prior art which facilitate streamlined and efficient connection from a mouthpiece to a breathing tube or tubes for efficient use by a swimmer during swimming exercise laps. The prior art devices are also cumbersome and require use with either a mask or a full swimming suit. A significant need exists for an efficient device which can be used to facilitate the swimming laps in a pool.